The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-28
A SAILORS SUCCESSFUL suse.


The Cook I'm = Fit-Was the Man sham
minge.His Discharge.
During the passage a circumstance oc-
CURED which will illustrate to the reader
the extreme to which some men win re-
sort In order to secure a discharge from
naval service. One bright Sunday morn
ing our ship, under steam and easy sail,
was forging ahead and making from
seven to eight knots with a fair wind
The crew were assembled at quarters and
the ceremony of inspection having been
performed the retreat was sounded and
the men dismissed from their stations.
Suddenly a blood cur,lling shrek was
heard, and the assistant ships cook fell
to the deck writing in agony and froth-
ing at the mouth. The surgeon follow ed
by his assistants hurriefly repaired tn the
spot. and the cook was ordered To lie at
once conveyed to the sick hay or hospital.
Here the surgeon worked for hours.
lancing the mans temples. applying
leeches AMI performing other surgical
operations deemed necessary in the pres
ent case.
Strange to relate. the cook was found
to have entirely lost his speech. and,
although able to hear. could make no
response To the inquiries of the surgeon
as To the state of his feelings Lee. the
cook, was a native OF New York, and
one of the most determined looking men
| ever remember To have met. He was
now kindly cared for by Lieut.. De Long,
who, at his own expense, furnished the
cook with meals from the ward room
mess. The latter was furnished with a
slate and pencil and assigned position
ON the starboard side of the main deck,
where le was constantly i'm view of the
ships officers, many of whom openly de-
claref their belief that the m:tn was
shamning. All manner of tests We're
applied in the latter ease. such as firing
a pistol behind his ear, striking him "A
violent blow without provocation, and
similar performances mdulgtd i'll for the
purpose of causing Lee to. in an I'M
guarded moment, betray the fact that he
was sliamming. Bat the fellow remained
silent throughout, and would frequently
he detected weeping over his misfortune.
Finally he begged the doctor to per
form any operation the latter might
deem proper in order to restore the or
gans of speech. which request more than
ever confirmed the surgeon i'm his belief
that the man was the victim of some
battling cerebral disorder, and treIanning
was suggested. The ship, however. had
it was decided to postpone the operation
until after the vessel had come To anchor.
Arriving at Key West. it was found that
the Colorado was homeward hound. AMI,
after undergoing thorough medical
examination, Lee was condemned and
sent north. For a period of six months
the fellow was never heard to utter a
syllable, and eventually procured his dis
charge.
The Brooklyn was now ordered To re-
pair to Norfolk, in order to refit for a
cruise, and my request for discharge.
being granted. | entered the cavalry ser
vice and i'm due time reached st. Louis.
One of the first men l encountered was
the cook Lee, who had enlisted at Boston
some months previous Dumb. No more
than / am. The fellow simply desired to
leave the navy, and, not wishing tn
desert, had chewed piece of soap on the
Sunday morning in question and pur-
posely shrieked in order to attract attcn-
ton as he fell To the deck. He sui,se-
quently explained tn me that he would
not for the world attempt "A repetition of
the fraud. having been rendered well
nigh insane by his effort to remain awake
in order To prevent being surprised into
speaking. Boston Commercial Bulletin.